


The diva and the noble

by Kaithewolfgirl



Series: Fe3H shipping oneshots [8]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:08:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27845770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaithewolfgirl/pseuds/Kaithewolfgirl
Summary: Dorothea rejoins her old opera at the end of the war. But nothing meaningful has changed. what now?
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Marianne von Edmund
Series: Fe3H shipping oneshots [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1648780
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	The diva and the noble

It had been a while since Dorothea had seen her comrades. Shortly after the five years’ war ended she had returned to the opera. She toured for around a year as part of a show to improve morale. Since many of their composers had either left or had died, performers were asked to step up to write. She poured her heart and soul into the libretto she worked on. Tragedy, and a great rebirth of Fodlan. Her colleagues loved her ideas, but remarked her writing was “rough.” Music had always been a way of expressing her innermost thoughts. Shows started off well, at least to her. They performed for small audiences in cities with buildings that crumbled. As people rebuilt their lives their crowds grew. With their first tour wrapped up, those in charge began to approach nobles for patronage. A handful had gold in their coffers if something could be offered in return. Just like it was before. She had been hopeful but not surprised.  
A sabbatical seemed a good idea. Dorothea packed lightly and set off to see visit some of her former classmates.  
Her travels took her northward through Faergus. Noble houses were still cleaning up after the fallout from being briefly ruled by Adrestian vassals. But for the most part, their fiefdoms had returned to some sense of normalcy.  
She ended up staying with Ingrid for a short while. Aside from a confusing skirmish in Gronder field, their respective sides had been allies.   
Dorothea had had a bit of a thing for Ingrid during their school days. Her earnestness and determination were attractive to Dorothea. However, she was quickly turned down after trying to make a move on her.  
Her time with her was enjoyable. Ingrid had settled into her role as head of her house nicely, finally having the freedom to live her life as she chose. She was engaged to Raphael, a commoner hailing from somewhere in alliance territory. She was surprised by the lack of awkwardness during the visit. Overall, the three of them enjoyed each other's company greatly. They went riding, hunting, and attended am amateur play in the neighbouring town.  
After a week, Dorothea sensed she was beginning to wear out her welcome. She figured it would be a good idea to leave while they were all still in good graces. She packed with provisions personally packed by Ingrid and headed south toward the Leicester alliance.

She eventually arrived in territory belonging to house Edmund. Bustling harbours flanked by the sparkling deep blue ocean made a nice change from the cold empty expanses of Faergus.  
Fishmonger stalls lined the streets with a variety of freshly caught sea creatures.  
She felt a small pang of nostalgia, which surprised her. However, these streets were clean and she did not see ragamuffin children hiding out in alleys. Not even the usual pickpocket or two trailing large crowds of harbour goers.  
Dorothea followed the cobblestone street for a while and into the town centre. She stopped for a bite to eat in front of a large stone church.  
The church had less of a presence in Leicester’s alliance of houses but it was marked nonetheless.  
Children kicked a brown ball of some sort in front of the building. They appeared to be well clothed and properly fed.   
Dorothea pulled out a hunk of bread and some salted pork. The children took no notice of her and played their game. A voice called out for them and the children stopped what they were doing. They slowly began to head inside the building.  
A young blue-haired woman popped her head out of the door. She called for the children to wrap up their game and come inside for afternoon lessons.  
“Marianne?” Dorothea blurted out.  
The young woman turned around to face her. She paused for a few seconds and then smiled.

“Dorothea! Whatever has brought you to this corner of Fodlan? This little town doesn’t have a theatre for an opera.” Marianne’s eyes shone with a twinkle that she had never seen as her classmate or ally.  
“Come inside, please! Once I get the children settled I can fix you some tea.”  
After several minutes, Dorothea was seated in a small office with a steaming cup of Seiros tea in hand.  
“So tell me, what brings you here?”  
Dorothea paused for a second.  
“I’m taking a bit of a break from the opera.” She said. “I am feeling a bit stifled.”  
“I see…” Marianne nodded.  
Dorothea took a moment to look around the office. It was a small room, slightly dusty with a variety of white magic tomes and hymn books. A small clay bowl with dried meat caught her eye. Did it belong to a pet?  
“Is this your office?” She asked Marianne.  
“sort of. It belongs to Sister Lilium, but she’s doesn’t mind me using it.”  
The two of them discussed Marianne's work as a noble of house Edmund. Post-war reparations had been overwhelming, but she had settled into a rhythm and set goals for herself. She mentioned that one of the children had found a skinny orange kitten in the market, and it had grown into a rambunctious tomcat. Sister Lilium had taken to him strongly.  
“speaking of children, tell me what you’ve done with this town,” Dorothea asked her.  
”well.” she started. “I’ve never been comfortable with lavish meals or great wealth. I sold off some of our fineries to help pay for infrastructure repairs. We had some leftover. I looked at the town and thought there was more to do. That my job wasn’t done”  
“The goddesses servants took me in, helped me in life. I… just want to do the same for them.” Marianne gulped. “there were so many deaths, the war left many orphans.”

“that is a very noble mission, Marianne,” Dorothea replied. She turned the teacup around in her hand.

“you are welcome to stay with me while you decide what to do next.” Marianne told her. 

When the sun started to touch the horizon the two left for where Marianne’s villa.  
They rode on the back of a perky chestnut mare. She did not seem at all troubled by the extra weight of Dorothea sitting behind Marianne.  
It occurred to Dorothea that she had lost weight since she left the opera. She travelled far by foot, but her appetite had not increased to match.

Just as Marianne had said, her large villa was barren for its size. The two of them wandered through several empty rooms before arriving at a modest dining room. A plate of spicy grilled seafood was in front of Dorothea in short order. She ate more than she had all month.  
“Marianne, I don’t suppose I could stay for a little while? I would love to help out.”  
“I would be pleased to have you.” She beamed. “I often find myself missing all of our old classmates.”  
Dorothea could not help but steal a glance at Marianne’s profile. She had grown from being a tired sullen teenager into a lovely noblewoman.  
A lovely noblewoman that didn’t act like a noble. One who was kind, and had a good mind too.  
After dinner, a hot bath and a room were prepared for Dorothea.  
The house had several elegantly carved stone balconies looking out into a courtyard garden.  
before retiring for the night, Dorothea stepped out onto one of them in a silk nightrobe.  
Leicester had moved into late spring, and the air was thick with the smell of apple blooms and flowers.  
“My adopted father had that garden planted. He was very proud of it.”  
Marianne appeared from behind her.

“I can see why”. She replied.” it's lovely”

Dorothea awoke the next morning and forgot where she was for a second. After several disorienting minutes, she was dressed and in the dining room once again with Marianne.  
“you mentioned you were interested in helping out with the children yesterday” Marianne began, over a plate of cured meat and duck eggs.  
Dorothea nodded.  
Marianne explained to Dorothea her plan for this seaside town.  
“There won't be a single child in this town who cannot read.” She explained.  
Dorothea agreed to help out. Seiros’s nuns and priests were part of an intensive effort to teach reading, to both orphans and commoners children. She agreed.  
“While you are helping out, feel free to stay with me as long as you like.”  
Dorothea thought she imagined the small blush and smile that crossed Marianne’s face.  
After breakfast, a stable boy had her set up with a horse and a map.

Dorothea had learned to read late, by noble standards at least. While she had immense talent, reading librettos was a necessity for a competent songstress. After training every night, Manuela or one of the other older divas would sit her down by the light of a fire with a book. They started with simple children's books and ended with complex arrangements by Fodlan’s most famous musicians.  
During her academy days when she was with the black eagle's house, Edelgard shared her ambitions in a political studies class of creating a system of free education. Edie was one person who knew of and sympathized with the things Dorothea had done to get herself into Garreg mach.

The sun had just cleared the horizon when Dorothea and Marianne arrived at the church.  
Dorothea had never looked favourably upon any of Seiros’s churches. In her eyes, they did more harm than good. It was because of them that the five years war happened.  
Marianne took her inside and introduced her to sister Lillium. The head nun was so hunchbacked she looked like she could fold in half. She put to mind a vulture.  
“mmm” she muttered. “you will have your work cut out for you Miss.”

She wasn’t wrong. The war left a lot of orphans. Dorothea spent the morning assisting one of the younger nuns with teaching. There were enough children in the town to divide the classes up by age. The children were on the young side, so there was squirming and mischief. But overall they were pleasant and eager to learn.  
By the end of the day, Dorothea was mentally exhausted but in a good mood. It put to mind helping out orphans from the Remire village catastrophe that were housed at garreg Mach. It felt good to be doing something necessary. Something that wasn’t licking the boots of nobles, as her old classmate Yuri would put it.  
She met up with Marianne at the end of the afternoon. Her cheeks glowed pink, and there was mud on her forehead.  
“you have something on your forehead!” Dorothea chuckled. Without thinking, she reached forward and brushed the streak of mud on her forehead. When she realized what she was doing, she yanked her hand back.  
“oh heavens, how did that get there?” Marianne brushed her head where Dorothea had brushed the mud off.  
“ I had an agricultural conference today. It turned out to be more practical than I thought.” She hummed.

A month passed with Dorothea working at the local church. The, well, churchiness of it all grated on her a little, but this was a church that did well. Took in orphans and taught the locals to read. They didn’t start wars or execute dissident nobility. Still, the cold coming off the stone brick walls made her shiver when she walked in every morning.  
Most days, Marianne had other business to attend to, being a noble's daughter. But when she could she would come by and help the clergy. Dorothea found that she had begun to yearn for Marianne's presence. Returning to her villa for a hot meal and conversation made whatever the day threw at her well worth the effort.  
Dorothea took the time to write some of her war friends as well as fellow songstresses. It was as she had feared. Nobles had returned to bankrolling the opera company, and its members were required to bend over backward to keep the money coming.  
“How about I start a choir?” Dorothea suggested to Marianne one night over a hot bowl of mashed turnips.  
“That sounds splendid.” She replied.  
That next day Dorothea pitched the idea to Sister Lillium.  
“Hmm, not a bad idea. We don’t have much singing besides designated holidays.”  
After some discussion, Sister Lillium gave Dorothea a timeslot after lunch for singing lessons.  
Dorothea hadn't felt so happy in years. Helping the children prepare for a small performance got her out of bed every morning.  
“you have a spring in your step today. Choir practice is going well I assume?” Marianne asked her one evening.  
“yes. I can remember why I loved to sing.” She replied.  
Every day after lunch Dorothea instructed a group of children in singing and performance. The first week was spent on breathing exercises. Not the most exciting activity and it elicited a few complaints. But the difference in the quality of tone was noticeable.  
She thought she would prep the group for saint Macuil day. They started to learn three traditional songs. The first two upbeat, the second more of a solemn affair. Dorothea purposely picked songs that were less on the nose about worship. Back during her school days, she could never stand how particular the monastery was about participating in services. She liked singing, yes, but not constant praise to long-dead saints. Or what she thought were long dead saints and turned out to be not even human.  
It was lies. All of it. And it caused a war. Hopefully, her old teacher’s rule of the church was less brutal than Rhea’s had been.  
She saw glimpses of her younger self in those children. They could be rowdy and mischievous at times, but her choir loved the music. She held their complete attention once practice started.

Marianne would visit the church at least weekly, where she was usually dealing with business with the senior clergy members. Occasionally she had time to pop her head in or lead an activity of some kind.  
A few months later Dorothea’s handful of children were ready for a small performance.  
The service drew in a modest crowd from the town.   
She noticed that overall, the adults, as well as the children, were well fed and happy. And most had at least a little coin to go around.  
Marianne had done well with this place.  
She had the performance near the end of the service. The labours of their practice had borne fruit. She and the children’s voices filled the stone church like warmth from a hearth. Dorothea was surprised how voluminous their singing was, even with the techniques she had taught them.  
While she was conducting their last song, Dorothea snuck a peek over her shoulder at the crowd. Her eyes wandered a little and immediately found the elegant blue-haired girl at the back of the church.  
She recognized Marianne, who had a serene smile upon her face and a sparkle in her eyes.  
Her face burned bright red.  
why?  
She didn’t know. Dorothea gave herself a mental shake and turned to look back at her choir.  
Her heart wanted to beat itself out of her chest.  
The last song finished to a roar of applause from the townsfolk.  
After the stage had been cleared and the service wrapped up, Marianne approached her.  
“Dorothea! That was lovely!” She grabbed both of Dorothea's hands.  
Marianne continued talking but Dorothea did not absorb a word she said. All she could think about was the warmth of her hands.  
The two of them stared at each other awkwardly for several long moments.  
“I’m really happy you made it, Marianne.” Dorothea slowly pulled her hands away, noticing they were sweaty.  
The children's choir grew a little over the next few days. It looked fun and more wanted in.  
Dorothea mentioned this over dinner to Marianne. It had become a ritual.  
“it’s a shame you are so busy. I would love to see you more during the day.” Dorothea smiled to herself at the thought.  
“that may be possible. My work will likely die down for the winter.” Marianne paused.” speaking of which, my adoptive father is holding a ball, for the fall harvest. Would you like to come?”  
“Noble events aren’t my favourite, but since you will be there, it will probably be fun.” Dorothea flashed a smile.  
Marianne chuckled softly. The sound made Dorothea’s heart leap.  
“I understand, my friend. but I promise it won't be a large ordeal. And I’m sure you will find likeable company in attendance.”  
An invitation to a ball? It sounded very datelike. Should be fun.  
Summer passed with busy but quiet contentment.  
The date of the ball rolled around. She finished up at the church early afternoon. Dorothea had a dress picked out. Something sleek and red, respectable but tight enough to scandalize the more uptight members of the nobility.  
Servants had been rushing around all day to prepare the small ballroom for a feast and then a party.  
Dorothea was certainly used to being the centre of attention at large gatherings, but she found herself feeling nervous. She did her makeup and messed it up. She wiped her face with oil and redid it. Which ended up taking her over an hour. However this kept her out of the way of Marianne’s servants, so she couldn’t complain too much.  
Darkness fell around dinnertime. The apple trees that had been adorned with fragrant white blossoms in the spring had grown ripe and heavy with fruit for fall.  
A small ballroom located at the far end of house Edmund was lively. Ladies with flowing gowns hung onto the arms of regaled gentlemen. She spied Marianne near one of the tables, giving instructions to a middle-aged woman with a tray of steaming baked apples.  
“Dorothea! There you are! there’s someone I would like you to meet.” She took Dorothea by the hand and led her to a pair of women drinking white wine out of fluted glasses. One was tall, thin and put to Dorothea's mind a crane. The other was shorter with large round spectacles like an owl's large eyes. Both were dressed elegantly in blue and gold.  
“you are Dorothea, correct?” asked the tall woman. “you’ve been the talk of several Adrestian cities, but we have sadly never met in person.”  
Dorothea introduced herself. The woman's appearance and demeanour seemed vaguely familiar.  
“Marianne over here was telling me about your career with Mittelfrank! And that you took issue with the current state of things? My name is Elinna”  
Dorothea explained to Elinna her issues with Mittelfrank.  
“Griselda and I –“ she nodded to the bespectacled woman “are looking at starting up an opera company. You see, Mittelfrank and many others cater to high society. But Fodlan is evolving, as we speak. Merchants, craftspeople, as they recover from the war find their pockets heavier and their minds idle. Naturally, we aren’t as grand as a well-established company. But there is a business opportunity in something less grandiose, but more accessible.”

Dorothea gasped. “that sounds … fantastic!”

“Griselda is offering to buy part of the company if I can find another singer. We won't be able to pay you as magnificently and certainly, your admirers will be less-“

“I will join you” Dorothea interrupted. ”I-this is perfect. And I know others who might be interested.”

Dancers began to file onto the floor while the three discussed logistics for this new company.  
“I own an estate next to house Edmund’s territory.  
This was rather sudden. And the idea of leaving Marianne after the time they spent together seemed wrong. But there would be time to think while Griselda and Elinna finalized business contracts.  
The rest of the evening passed on in a surreal blur of lights, wine, and immaculately prepared seafood. As late-night transitioned into the early morning, Dorothea caught up to Marianne. She looked totally exhausted.  
At the sight of Dorothea, her eyes brightened and her slightly slumped posture straightened.

“Please come with me. I have something I need to tell you.” Mariane said in an urgent murmur.  
“ I have something as well,” Dorothea replied.  
Marianne took her hand and led her away from the ballroom. They walked down several hallways before arriving in the orchard.  
Marianne fished around her ball gown for something before producing a silver ring with a small blue jewel in the centre.  
“listen”, said Marianne. My adoptive father would like me to get married. He would prefer a noble. But he knows you. And he likes you. He’s seen all the work you’ve done for the church. I don’t want to have children, see. I can’t bear the thought of passing my accursed crest down to anyone else.  
“I know this is fast, and all, but would you be willing to be married to me?”

It was a sudden suggestion, yes. Marriage to a noble had been Dorothea’s goal. A noble that she loved. It led to her decision to pursue acceptance to Garreg Mach's officer's academy.  
“I would be happy to.”


End file.
